Hi guys, read the forum quote at length and found one topic similar to my situation. Currently live in a semi, and having an issue with the neighbour were joined with. There is a hedge in front that separates the property approx 20m long. This hedge is neighbours hedge and also his boundary, this is something he has told us and happy with this.However we now have a dog and it has gotten through the hedge a few times as its full of a lot of holes, neighbours are very scared of dog and even called police on us for having a dangerous dog, its a choc lab I approached my neighbour and said if we can get rid of the hedge, and put a new fence up on the boundary line, which we would pay for, to which he refused and said he like the hedge. We have now decided to put he fence up on our side of the boundary. Over the years however a lack of trimming on our part and daily trimming of the hedge on neighbours side has meant pretty much all of the hedge grows on our side of this boundary, there is a bit of dead tree in the hedge which i would say leans over at lease 3 to 4ft into our front garden, parts of the roots grow a few foot into ours as well. Plans show that the boundary line is a straight-line from the party wall to where our front brick walls meet. There is a gutter which goes down the middle of the houses, and there is a gap of about 3 inches between the front brick walls which go adjacent to the main road. Im assuming a line from these to points is the boundary, we are drawing a line 2 inches into our side for where we are going to put the fence, and again the majority hedge is along this point. I mentioned to the neighbour that all the hedge is on our side, and if he likes it so much he maybe should of let it grow onto his side more as well not hacking out most roots on his side when he had his drive redone. He never really responded only saying if his hedge is damaged he will be taking legal action. Yesterday i spent a good few hours really trimming back the hedge, and in parts i would say the hedge is now no more than 3-4 inches in width but even with this i would say if we put a fence in, either it would not have to follow a straight-line, of go at lease 3-4 foot on our side of boundary. We have a appointment with a solicitor tomorrow, which were hoping to say this is the boundary line, we will be removing any part of the hedge that is on ourside of the boundary, well give it a few inches so he can't kick off, unless he can supply evidence that this is not the boundary line, which i don't think he can, and also state we are willing to call in a surveyor to mark out boundary as well. Am i right in my thinking of the sitatuion??

I wouldn't even give the cheeky sod a few inches. You have the right to put the fence right up to the edge of your boundary. Make sure you take enough photographs before and after to show that you're only dealing with that part of the hedge that falls on your side of the boundary. It sounds to me that if the hedge dies that's more to do with the fact that they've left nearly none on their side of the boundary.

arborlad wrote:Land ownership and dog ownership are often confused on this forum, the law requires you to have your dog under full control at all times - it doesn't require you to have a dog proof boundary.

I'm just dealing with the reality here. Also being the owner of a bouncy 9 month old Chocolate Labrador, the OP certainly needs to fence their garden to keep their dog under control. They're mad as a box of frogs, but very friendly and adorable. I really don't think that tying the dog to a stake in the garden is likely.

Cut the hedge right back so that there is the minimum of it on your side. (Then he can let his side grow if he wants it thicker) and then put posts and strong green plastic netting fence or sheep netting on your side. This will cover all the gaps and can be done quickly or use fence panels(more expensive). It will be an easier solution than trying to fill in the gaps or growing another hedge on your side of the boundary. As has been said responsibility for keeping your animals from straying is yours alone.Is it a fat Lab? Could it squeeze through one of the squares in sheep netting?

Cannot understand why you would throw money at solicitors for this.You need to keep dog out of neighbours land if you love the dog and want to protect it because the neighbour does not love the dog, has already said he's afraid of it and has called the police. As indicated you do not have to have a dog proof fence but if you don't fence your dog in, you expose the dog to risk.So a good fence up hard against the cut back hedge seems appropriate and if the neighbour feels the need to throw money at a solicitor let him.....but why you would I have no idea!

Thank you for the responses, just wanted a solicitor to write to him so it's all logged don't think he's charging me much to send him this. In regards to the gap in between the front walls, we didn't butt our wall up to his incase out wall was on the actual boundary.We've had some fencers who have looked at the hedge and said it pretty much all falls on our side of the boundary and with a strong enough wind reckons it may just blow over as it's so thin now. I think we'll defo video record the whole hedge coming down and new fence going up in case he decides to kick off.. Just very frustrating, Again thanks for your input guys

Wait a minute...you said in first posting that the hedge belonged to neighbour, was his boundary and you accepted that....you cannot remove all this hedge! You can put a fence butting up to it but not remove it and replace it by a fence.

Also if you send a solicitors letter, you initiate a formal legal dispute to which he has the right to respond. If you claim that the hedge is on your side of the boundary, he doesn't need the proof...you do! A solicitor and fencers saying the hedge is on your side is NOT proof and you are walking into a dispute that will have to be declared if you want to sell and that will cost much more than a single letter.

What is the solicitors letter for? What will it say?....the hedge was on your side of the boundary? The neighbour will respond himself asking for your proof of your claim, which you don't have since hedge was there for years....then what? Since you have no proof, he may request you reinstate hedge at your expense and now your solicitors costs are rising.

I would just put up fence against remaining hedge and not send any letters.

yes hedge does belong to neighbour, and it is his boundery, as im aware i can remove anything that is over on my side of the boundery, which i would say is at least 80/90% of the hedge...i just want to put a fence up, not on the boundery but maybe say 2 inches into my side of the property...

In terms of proof, all plans for the property show that the boundery is a straightline from the party wall of the houses, to the point where our front walls meet, theres another 30 houses on the street which also have this straight boundary line. I think the solicitors letter is simply going to say the hedge is not fit for purpose, we will be putting up a fence on our side of the boundary, what ever falls on our side of the boundery will be removed, the majority of the hedge is now on our side of the boundery due to over trimming on his side and a lack of this on our side over the years,.... the only thing i guess he can reply with is no this is not the boundary... and i think he'll struggle to provide anything to prove this, as all the plans show a straight line...

If i was to put a fence up as is, it would have to be a very zig zag fence, or if i was to put a straight fence up then i think it would be at least 5ft into out garden and probably wouldnt be able to even fit cars on drive properly, so it really is not an option...

If you remove all his hedge, he could sue you. He only has to prove he owned the hedge ....and you accept that. You also believe that the full 100% isn't on your land.You would have to prove that it had been planted on your land and the plans don't do that. They show approx position and hedge has been in position for some time and become the 'boundary'.Removing his hedge could also be considered criminal damage and he may contact the police.

Whilst you have the right to cut back to the boundary, you do not have the right to remove it.

It's a moot point whether you write to him, solicitors letter or your own. Why give him such respect? I appreciate you might want it all in writing though as he is such a scaredy-cat whinger. His hedge growth on your side of the boundary certainly does not allow him to over-fly and colonise your land!

Cut back as much as you can of his hedge for a straight run as close to the original 'true' boundary line as you possibly can i.e. as defined by a line from the join of your houses out to the front walls.

Erect posts and 1m high chicken wire. In future his hedge - if it survives - will grow through and the posts will be a guide to how far you can cut back: make sure the posts are as near to the 'true' boundary as possible. (I used half-round pit prop posts, the flat side on my side, as my dog fence.)

Probably the original hedge was planted straddling the boundary with plants alternately a few inches either side of the boundary. Over time, plants grow/die/are replaced and the original centre line has become uncertain. Happens all the time. We have that here and we are gradually replacing the hedge and my dog fence with 2m larch lap fencing agreeing the line as we go.

rstrst8686 wrote:In regards to the gap in between the front walls, we didn't butt our wall up to his incase out wall was on the actual boundary.

You should have, all boundary features to be effective must abut the known boundary.

Before you get carried away and run the risk of losing land, ask your fencers to mark your boundary for you, this should run in a straight line from the end of the neighbours wall to the centre of the party wall, spray paint is ideal for this.